Until Tomorrow (title may change)
by xxJulyRainxx
Summary: In a post-apocalyptic world, all you need to do is survive. No one questions how the infected came to be, but perhaps it's time for someone (or in this case, a group of people) to use their wits to find out once and for all. Because every puzzle has an answer. Modern-ish AU, set after Unwound Future. Will include some ClivexFlora! Please R&R! (Also, sorry for the bad summary!)
1. Prologue

**Prologue**

The city is nothing more than a fragile husk of what it used to be. It still holds many memories, both bad and good, in the many crumbling walls, but they lie deep in the crevices and crannies of the city where no one can get to them. No one can remember anymore, remember the times before the current apocalyptic state of the world.

Yes, London has truly fallen, despite some survivors' hope that it will be rebuilt to it's former glory. Someday soon, when this period of misfortune is done and over with.

But that is not the case here. No, this crisis won't take a mere few days to 'blow over'. It is something much bigger, much more serious than that. Most know this, even if they've buried it deep within their hearts and minds to forget the undeniable truth.

And the truth is, if you take the time to open up your mind past your home city, you'll see that the entire world knows it too.

No one is unaffected.

**A/N - You all should know that I'm not the best at prologues, titles, and summaries. XD**

**Another note, this story will be T because of language (it's a bad habit -) and I suppose some gore because, well, there are "undead" creatures attacking humans and they're most definitely going to defend themselves. :D**


	2. Episode 1 - Part 1 - Luke Triton

**A/N - I'm back. Finally. Writer's block can go drown itself in the ocean. I hate you so much.**

**Anyways! This is my first Layton story, and I have to admit I'm a sucker for apocalypse fics. (That didn't come out quite right, did it?)**

**Hopefully you enjoy, this is Chapter 1. Or, should I say, Part 1 of Episode 1. (I'll explain sometime soon.)**

**Please Read and Review, as always, because you're all my motivation to keep writing! Enjoy this...'teaser'(?)!**

_May 4 – 3:27 a.m_

_The Professor told me to get some rest because I'll need it. And I probably will, too, because you don't see a lot of caffeine these days, something I desperately need. I don't care if it stunts your growth; my height at 16 is a pretty good place to stop if you ask me._

_Sorry, correction. I _didn't _care._

_Now, those things don't cross my mind at all._

_Anyways, yeah, I had to write because a miracle happened today. No one really believed it could happen, but I guess she's had some practice. I mean, if you can't cook at least a _pre-made can _of, I don't know, soup, you don't have much chance of surviving, do you? _

_Right, I'm ranting again, back to the point._

_Flora made us dinner tonight (or should I say yesterday night…hm.). And it was _edible _and tasted like it actually should._

_I know, shocker, right? That's what Emmy said too. Speaking of Emmy, it's amazing that she actually found us. She was by herself, too, since she lives alone. She found us about 20 days in, and has been with us ever since. Strange, because I haven't actually _seen _her since I was about 9 or 10. Just kept in touch through letters. But seeing her kick zombie arse reminds me how cool I think she is. No, how cool she actually is. Oh, and don't tell the Professor that I used language like that, he'd fly into a rage. I'd think being a gentleman would be the least of his worries in times like this. Plus, I'm a teenager. It was bound to happen sometime, really._

_May 7 – 1:04 p.m_

_I don't want to call these things zombies anymore. They look too much like regular humans, just with rotting flesh and fungi growing out of their heads and bodies._

_Attractive._

_I think I'll call them infected. Everyone seems to agree that it's a better name for them. They're just poor, unfortunate people infected by insanity._

_May 16 – 11:15 a.m_

_I think we're running out of supplies. We need to move our location to find some more. But this was the ultimate safe house. Hell, we were here before Emmy showed up. She found us when we were scavenging though our old neighbourhood. _

_Flora seems really scared. She always fidgets now, and even cooking doesn't relax her. She plays with the hems of her dresses, shirts, loose threads on her jeans. I know I probably do it too, because if you watch the Professor very closely, he never stops reaching up to touch the brim of his hat._

_May 25 – 1:34 a.m_

_Today we went scavenging. We didn't find much though. I'm starting to think about how we're going to_

Luke pauses. He swears he heard a noise. The flat is dark, due to the boarded-up balcony door and a few select windows, to provide security. The other windows are their source of light because they aren't covered. It's because a fire escape leads from the ground all the way up to the balcony.

Luke peeks through the closest glass pane, which is lifted slightly and letting in a cool night breeze. The air is crisp from the earlier rain.

He wonders if he's imagining things from fatigue and lack of nourishment, but then he hears it again, a low thump-thump of something hitting wood. It's coming from behind him. He turns and his ears catch the sound of moans and groans as well.

Oh my God. The balcony door is vibrating with second intervals in between.

Luke snaps his journal shut, and hurries to the others, shaking them roughly but quietly as to not attract attention.

Flora, surprisingly, is the first to wake. She groggily looks at the door and lets out a squeak, her eyes growing huge. She slaps a hand to her mouth quickly once she's realized that she has made that sound.

With Flora's help, it only takes a few moments to wake Emmy and Layton. Luke knows they have to move now. Despite the wood covering it, the glass already has cracks around it's edges from the strength of what sounds like about 10, 15 of the infected. Walkers, he likes to sub-divide. Walkers, lurkers, clickers, the occasional bloater. (God, those things are nasty.)

"Grab only what is necessary," Layton quickly commands, his voice growing grim. "We will have to leave some supplies behind."

That is more than they can afford 93 days in.

"Move it, guys," Emmy says, stuffing her duffel bag with necessities. Toiletries (well, the ones they could find), cans of food, her sleeping bag, extra clothes, a pistol and boxes of ammo she had managed to grab from over-turned police cars on the streets. Luke and Flora do the same, taking care of Layton's things as well. He is trying his best to hold the glass door more or less intact while the three finish up.

"Let's go! Professor!" Emmy risks yelling at him and throws his bag towards him. He manages to swiftly catch it and follows the group out the door and into the dark outside world.

**A/N - There ya go! Soo, a couple of things to clear up now.**

**-The Professor Layton franchise belongs to the wonderful Level-5. Thanks for ruining my social life in the best way possible.**

**-I will be using terms from The Walking Dead and The Last of Us to describe these creatures in this fic. (Since we're on the topicc, Clementine is such a badass now. More than I was at, what, 10? 11? Woooooot Season 2!)**

**-I will be dividing events into Episodes. They may not make sense, the way they're divided I mean, but I assure you it's not weird that you don't follow. I can barely understand it myself. So, yeah. :D Bear with me.**

**-You probably noticed it says 'Episode - Part -****_ Luke Triton_****'. That just means that the part will focus a bit more on their feelings, experiences, etc. even if the entire story is in the 3rd person. The majority of an episode will probably focus on the same character throughout the ep.**

**-This fic WILL contain characters not in the franchise at all, which means I would love it if someone wanted to contribute an OC or something to...make my life a bit easier, I guess.**

**Hopefully I update soon! Remember, reviews are my life source, much like grilled-cheese. Bye, remember to review! :D**


	3. E01 - Part 2

**A/N - Aaaaaaaand I'm finally back! (But next week is 'exam week', and I have speeches and a huge Science project due, so... :s let's see how it goes... :3) Sorry about the long wait, but hey! A new POV...? A new character...? :D**

His right arm is killing him and he really wishes he could be ambidextrous. He can barely shoot with his left hand, let alone have good aim. He needs to check it right away for infection and treat it before the dull, thudding ache it creates gets worse.

He hadn't meant to injure himself. The things had chased him towards an apartment building made of bricks with a wooden plank on one of the balcony doors above a short fire escape. He had made a sharp left turn out of the alleyway onto the main road, but he had run into a wire fence. The fence had been half-demolished with jagged wire ends sticking out of it, but he had pushed his way through the opening. His hands had been the first to be cut, and then his arm had found _a knife_, of all things, jutting out of the fence as he made another turn.

He winces as the deep gash rubs against the fabric of his blazer, making it sting. He has to get to the department store, where he can get supplies and finally look at how much damage the knife has caused.

_It shouldn't be far away now. Only a few more buildings down,_ he thinks to himself. He repeats it over and over again, to calm himself down. He needs to think clearly.

His arm starts to feel warm as it begins to bleed again, the wound being reopened. He's almost there; he can make it without resting.

He has to.

* * *

When he finally reaches the big, glass doors that make up the entrance of the shopping center, he is greeted by both relief and disappointment. He feels like a complete idiot for not thinking about the fact that the doors are probably locked, which they are. There is a large chain and padlock wrapped around the handles with the key long gone from the area.

He curses silently to himself and looks around him. The sky is still light, so he should have enough time to find _some _way to get inside quietly and efficiently.

He doesn't see any of the creatures around him. That's a good sign. He hitches his bag up higher onto his shoulders before looking up and scanning the big building in front of him.

He's been here before, to meet up with an old colleague from his workplace at the time, a few years back. He remembers how sunlight from its glass ceiling had provided natural light inside of the mall and how it had been bustling with people, the complete opposite of what he sees now.

He's exasperated to find no ways of getting in, until he sees the building next to it. It's a hotel and it has a ladder leading up onto its fire escape ledge, followed by a flight of iron steps all the way up to the roof. From there, a simple leap to the hotel's left will get him onto the roof area behind the round dome on top the department store. How convenient.

When he jumps up and grabs the end of the metal ladder, he winces at the rough texture stinging his cuts even further. He hauls himself up onto the ledge and proceeds to walk up the rusty stairs to the roof.

When he gets to the top, he sits down for a bit and takes his blazer off to reveal a white dress shirt underneath, covered with a waistcoat. He unbuttons that to see a whole section of the shirt is stained red, darker than he expected, and the first thing he thinks is that that won't come out easily. He lets out a laugh at his thought and stuffs the piece of clothing into his bag.

He decides to look at the London skyline and he smiles when he sees he can catch a glimpse of the familiar Thames. His smile fades a bit when he realizes that the dark shapes littering the bridge are abandoned cars, creating a sort of barrier dividing the two sides of the bridge. It just reminds him even further about the night this had all began and how people had fought to get out of this city.

He stands up again and stretches his arms. He decides he might as well get it over with by jumping across the gap now. He takes a deep breath from a little ways from the ledge of the roof. He can't explain it, but he suddenly feels knots in his stomach twisting and turning to create an uncomfortable feeling. It's not like he _hasn't _done this before, it's just…he never gets used to the idea that he's actually doing this from such great heights. He lets another deep breath go, and takes a running start.

And then he's in the air, and it feels like time has stopped for just a moment. All he focuses on is the place where he'll land on, the place he has made his target. He feels weightless for a few seconds before his backpack pulls him down, making him gain speed.

The impact causes a sharp pain to travel up his ankles making him actually gasp in surprise. He feels himself slipping down the slanted roof. He grabs around for something to pull himself up with and manages to do so with the tiles that are still stuck firmly in neat little rows. After hauling himself nearer to the glass dome he sets his bag down next to him and rests for another bit.

"I have had _enough_ of these bloody injuries," he mutters out loud while rubbing his ankles. He shakes his hands and massages his sore, red fingers.

The glass beneath his feet cracks and breaks as he walks across the tiles towards the dome. Its glass walls are cracked, and there are holes where glass is missing. He looks into one of these holes and sees the light flooring of the shopping center's top floor.

He brings his foot down hard against the jagged edges of one hole that is big enough for him to go through. The loud, shattering sound of glass hitting linoleum echoes through the empty streets and he cringes at the noise. It better not have attracted any attention from anyone or any_thing_.

His shoes hit the flooring of the building he has slipped into, and the first thing he does is head to the nearest pharmacy located on the same floor. He hopes nothing has changed since he's last been here, but he doubts it has over the period just of a few years.

He passes pile after pile of debris and papers scattered on the floor before he reaches the entrance of the pharmacy, and he can see that the shelves are empty, which begins to make him panic. He starts to run towards the shelves next to a counter with a rolling screen that can be locked. It blocks his view, so he can't see behind the counter. The door next to it has a keyhole and has a signs that states "Employees Only".

"No...no, no, no! There has to be something left…" he desperately whispers to himself, wishing some supplies would appear in front of him and answer his prayers. He checks them again, and leans down to check the bottom-most shelf, putting his hands on the ground before him to steady himself. He feels something small and ridged on his fingertips. He picks it up and inspects it closer to find out that it's a key. He looks towards the locked door next to the counter.

"Of course," he says. He reckons the things he's looking for will be in the back room, where all the prescription drugs are kept. He walks up, fits the key into the lock, and turns it. The door opens with a click and he pushes it open further and slips inside.

Once there, he finds the door can be locked from the inside as well and makes sure that the door won't budge before looking behind him. Sure enough, there are still bottles and containers of medicine in the cabinets and shelves lined up in neat rows.

He spots bottles of unsold peroxide as well as gauze and medical bandages. He doesn't see anything he can use for stitches, if it turns out he needs them. There is a sink on the wall furthest away from where he stands at the other end of the rectangular room, which can be used to clean his wound. He makes his way towards it, thinking he might as well get it over with.

He rolls up his sleeve until the fabric becomes too tight around his upper arm. He uses some of the paper towels next to the sink with water to wipe the now semi-dried blood on his skin. When he feels that enough blood is gone, he picks up a peroxide bottle and opens it. He curses silently in his head at what he's about to do. Then, he starts to slowly pour some onto the gash on his arm. His shaking hands loses its grip on the bottle for a second and a splash of the liquid lands on the affected area, making bubbles appear at a fast rate.

He grits his teeth but ends up yelling out in agony during the minute of intense stinging and pain. He didn't think that it would be _this_ painful. When the stinging feeling subsides, he feels arm actually begins to feel some relief.

Since he can't find anything to make makeshift stitches, he deduces the best thing he can do now is wrap his arm up tightly as to 'close' the wound a bit. He uses the gauze first, and then the medical bandages, making sure that it won't some undone easily.

He sinks to the floor, his bag next to him. A wave of fatigue hits him. He hadn't realized, but his many near-sleepless nights has started to take a toll on him. So, he leans his head back onto the wall and closes his eyes.

Did he lock the door? Yes, he remembers putting the key back into the side of his bag. He feels around for it again and his fingers find the small and smooth piece of metal he's checking for. Did he remember to clean, treat (to an extent), and dress his arm? Of course, he'd just finished a few minutes ago. Why would he forget something that happened such a short while ago?

He can feel himself drifting in and out of consciousness; he really needs some sleep. And it _seems _safe in here…

His eyes stay closed and his breathing sort of regulates as he falls into well-deserved sleep.

**A/N - SOO! This is actually like around 1 900 words, and I'm pretty proud of that! My new goal has gone from 2 000 to 1 500 words...tee hee. I think I can manage to make 1 500 word chapters daily, so I'm just trying to make my goal more manageable. I think this will help me update more frequently with decent-quality chapters :P! **

**Remember to R&R please! And share this with other Layton lovers! It would really help me a lot, and it's always crazy awesome to see more Layton fans; I mean, the fandom deserves more fans, amiright? :3 See ya soon, friends!**


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